Russia will need about 100 long-haul aircraft in the coming years, but a new aircraft to replace the Il-96 is not even in the draft of the Comprehensive Civil Aviation Development Program. Roman Gusarov, editor-in-chief of Avia.ru, spoke about the situation.
He reminded that work is currently underway on the domestic PD-35 engine for such an aircraft.
The issue with long-haul aircraft is still open. But not many are needed, about a hundred. As an option, this could include a re-engined version of the Il-96-400 aircraft.
Meanwhile, the program for the new Il-96-400M has stalled in Russia. In August, the only test aircraft did not even leave the hangar. Aviation expert Oleg Panteleev explained that airlines have already chosen Boeing and Airbus, and "Ilyusha" may not be of interest to them.
"Pervy Tekhnichesky" conducted a direct comparison of the Il-96-400M with the global benchmark for long-haul efficiency – the Boeing 777-300ER. In this competition, the winner was clear.